


Remnant of a Broken Soul

by aCanadianSlytherin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Black Family Madness (Harry Potter), Dark, Dark Harry, F/F, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Female Severus Snape, James and Lily bashing, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, No Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), Post-War, Sane Tom Riddle, Sirius Black Lives, Slow Burn, Slytherin Harry Potter, different war timeline, grey hermione, light - Freeform, slytherin ginny, soulmark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26536645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aCanadianSlytherin/pseuds/aCanadianSlytherin
Summary: Estella Potter grew up hiding her soulmark knowing that if the light side found out she had one, she could lose her soulmate. She bides her time until she can stand apart from her family and be with her other half. Little does she know, her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would turn her whole life upside down.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 117
Kudos: 580





	1. Hidden Truth

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHORS NOTE
> 
> *I have no Beta, but if you would like to volunteer let me know!*  
> I will be updating this on no set schedule until i have a few people asking.
> 
> Hope you enjoy

Eyes often compared to the killing curse stared back at Estela. This was her routine; every day she stared in the mirror trying to figure out what she did in a past life to deserve the awful things that have happened. Today was just the cherry on top of what has been a difficult number of years. 

This had been a habit of hers every birthday since she was young. Each birthday was another soulmark she had to glamour constantly. It was undeniably important that no one saw them until she was able to be with her other half. Estela idly admired the swirls around her arms. They could even be beautiful if Estella allowed herself to think so. If anyone got close enough to look, they would see that her swirls were not solid black but a long uninterrupted chain of a single name;

Tom Marvolo Riddle

This was definitely not an ordinary wizard's name. Not to Estella, and certainly not to any light family. The current dark lord's name was not exactly inconspicuous. 

Using the basic occlumency she had been practicing, Estela wiped her face of all emotion before steeling herself to face the day. Taking each step downstairs slowly seemed to be how she was stalling seeing her parents today. Internally Estela was panicking.  
Since she was sorted into Slytherin in first year her relationship with the elder potters had considerably cooled. They had never been close to their eldest daughter, but first year seemed to cement their ideas of who Estela was. She never understood the hatred James and Lily potter harbored as her grandmother, Dorea, had been a Slytherin in her years at Hogwarts. If their prejudice was selective, then why did it not extend to Estela?

Slightly shaking her head of that line of thinking, Estela made her way to the dining table. Sitting near the head of the table was Lily potter. Flowing auburn hair and a small heart shaped face made Lilly look the near opposite of her daughter. Estela’s sharp jaw, arched brows and heavily lidded eyes made her a spitting image of her distant cousin Bellatrix, who the elder potters despised. Bella was the best of the cousins, in Estela’s heavily biased opinion. She was the one who nourished Estela’s thirst for knowledge. Where her parents did their best to lead her interests to light magic, Estela’s core was always too dark to truly enjoy it. This made her dinners with Uncle Sirius and Aunt Bella, her preferred name, the highlight of Estela’s week. Bellatrix didn’t work in the traditional sense as far as the public knew, but when the liquor was flowing Bellatrix would describe the gory scenes of the jobs she was assigned as a Hitwizard for hire. Estela was perfectly aware that what she did was not legal, but in her eyes, what was the loss of a few wizards who meant nothing to most people?

  
Estela knew her morals did not match well with that of her parents. James and Lily Potter; two prominent members of the light faction, raised her to be a perfect light witch. Her parents refused to let her around anyone remotely dark, it was this reason that Uncle Sirius told Estela not to mention Bellatrix’s presence at their dinners. As it was, they thought that Sirius was tutoring her in dueling and not the battle magic and dark arts he had truly taught her.

Something else Sirius had taught her was the existence of soulmarks. To the dark families, a soulmark was the highest honor, the other half of your soul represented on your skin. To the light families, soulmarks are considered dark magic as they are rooted in soulmagic. If a soulmark appeared on a light witch or wizard, a cleansing ceremony where the offending mark is removed. This ceremony is performed by the current light lord. At the present moment, that person is Albus Dumbledore. Estella internally scoffed as she sat in beside her father at the head of the table. If anyone could truly be labeled a dumbledore fanatic, it would be James Potter. Estella never understood her father's merlin-like idolization of Dumbledore. She could not stand to be in the same room as his sickly light magic and Dumbledore could tell he made her uncomfortable, but continued to force his presence on her throughout her childhood. Estella always blamed James for Dumbledore’s odd interest in her. When James realized she had a natural dark core he asked Dumbledore for advice. That was when she was five and James was still searching for a spell to change her core alignment despite his distaste for her.

Her father glanced at her quickly as she sat down and watched Estella serve herself a helping of eggs.  
“Are you ready for your school shopping today? It is your final year.” James very rarely directed anything at Estella unless strictly necessary.

“I was unaware I had received my Hogwarts letter father.” She felt that by keeping the conversation formal she would be able to at least delay James' annoyance.

“We still open your mail Estella” James sent a sidelong glance at Lily, “Your mother and i dislike the company you keep.”

“James…” Lily warned lightly. This was her mother's way, pretending to reign in her husbands rudeness while not contradicting the truth of his words,

Estella Steadied her gaze at the pair

“The last time i checked today is my coming of age and you are no longer allowed to open my correspondence.”

her parents shifted slightly before james opened his mouth “This letter was received before today, but regardless you are still my heir and i have every right to help you make the right connections.”

  
This was the same argument they had nearly every summer. Estella’s connections to her Slytherin classmates were undesirable in her parents eyes, and her being close with Draco Malfoy did not endear her to James and Lily. She has heard it all before; “He’s from a dark family!”, “The last thing we need is you to invite more dark magic into your already dark core!” Each time the argument ended in James apparating away from the estate presumably to drink away the night. Then Estella was always left with her raging mother who had always blamed her for James’s drinking.

Estella shook herself from her recollection and continued to blankly stare at the two people she had grown to hate. The festering resentment had only grown over the years and was now too hard to hide.  
She decided to change the subject to prevent that particular argument, but she definitely was not going to shop with James

“I would be happy to shop on my own.” She could see James’s temper rising “But i would be happy to keep all receipts to show you what i bought.” Giving James that sense of control over her would hopefully quell his childish anger.

He seemed to struggle with what to say for a brief moment and Estella held back a scoff. Gryffindor's and their pride. “That would be acceptable. I am sure I can find something better to do today” He quickly stood up and made to leave. “i think Albus wanted to meet anyway”

  
Lily finally broke her silence “Here is your letter, and” She hesitated “...congratulations” She walked out of the dining room leaving Estella confused. She pulled out the letter from the envelope and a heavy clunk sounded on the table. Estella picked up the badge and was exhilarated to see Head Girl gleaming back at her.


	2. Family Ties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a bit more information the events of the last war are all the same until 1979. This is where canon diverges entirely. There will be more explanations to come as to why the war ended. For clarification, there is no girl/boy who lived in this story. It did not align with my vision for the story.
> 
> UNEDITED  
> PS. thank you for all the love on the previous chapter

Chapter 2

Diagon Alley still filled her with wonder every time she visited. Estella often wondered as a child why James and Lily took her through the knockturn alley floo and she came to realize her parents were ashamed of her; the dark daughter they didn’t want. Estella quickly tried to turn her thoughts away from her family as she stepped out of the shop she had flooed into.   
Over the years flooing into that particular shop had become a comfort for Estella and she didn’t intend to change that anytime soon. Her gaze wandered over the shop displays in the dark alley more than she had ever allowed herself to do before. She spotted a beautiful black mirror with a frame that reminded her of the twining branches of the whomping willow. Estella stared at her halo of curls. She had always been proud of her curls. When Lily had seen her hair literally crackle with magic when she was young, she told Estella that it was the mark of a powerful witch. According to Lily, the average witch and wizard didn’t express their magic externally. Estella’s magical theory discussions with Lily were one of the only times she could remember her mother truly invested in her. Lily told her often that she wished that Estella had inherited her red wavy hair instead of the pitch black ringlets she had. Lily always seemed to be very focused on how different Estella looked in comparison to herself. 

A rickety wooden sign above her spelt out the name of the shop she had been staring into; “ _Borgin and Burkes”_ James had told her that if he ever caught her in that shop he would finally disown her. Estella’s father had always threatened her with disownment whenever she toed the line too close for James’s comfort. Her very existence was an excuse enough for him these days.

This was the main reason she wanted to go to Diagon alone today. If she could go to Gringotts alone and unsupervised she could ask for an inheritance test and see if she could lay claim to another name just in case. If she were to be disowned she would be shunned worse then a squib. Every family would wonder how she had shamed her head of house preventing Estella from gaining as real social ground after graduations. Connections made the wizarding world tick and being the heir of an Ancient and Noble House was the best connection you could have. Her only hope of avoiding this was claiming another lordship before Lord Potter could cast her out.

Estella stalked out of knockturn Alley into the throng of people in the brightly lit alley. She noticed a few witches eyeing her warily and she tried to clear the scowl of her face. Judging by the deepening wariness from those around her she was unsuccessful. Draco had always told her she was what boggarts saw when they came across another. Estella snickered lightly as she remembered his slight fear of her. The quick steps she had taken deposited her at the entrance of the gleaming marble building. She had always wondered why the light families looked down on goblins as they let them manage their money regardless.   
At the bottom of the stairs stood a young boy she recognized to be a second year, though she couldn't recall his house affiliation. In his hands were the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. Estella snagged one as she was walking by and tossed a couple galleons in the boys hand for the paper. She glanced down to see the minister’s handsome face smiling back at her. 

“MINISTER RIDDLE PROPOSES A HOGWARTS CURRICULUM OVERHAUL!”

_Ambitious.._ Estella thought. 

With Dumbledore’s firm control over Hogwarts she sincerely doubted the success of that particular plan. Though it very well could just be a campaign tactic with the election this upcoming year. This would be Tom Riddle’s 4th year in office and it would be his 3rd election won if he wins by popular vote for the next. The Ministerial Elections were held every two years as a condition of the Great Alliance Treaty signed between the Light and Dark factions in 1981. Estella would have been just over a year old, but James Potter never stopped ranting about the treaty granting the Dark families the right to practice. 

_I wish I could go to him now._ She realized that because she was still under House potter James could quite literally call for her death or the removal of her precious soulmark. 

She had only trusted one person with the knowledge of her soulmark and it would stay that way until she was legally her own person.

Lifting her chin, Estella strode across the white marble towards the Floor manager of Gringotts

**“Greetings, May your future be filled with blood and gold. I formally request a meeting with a member of the inheritance department at your earliest convenience.”**

The goblins' eyes briefly widened at the formal greeting and Estella’s fluent Gobbledygook. 

**“Greetings Heir Apparent Potter. May your gold ever flow and your enemies fall. I am Razortooth. Manager Ragnok is currently available, follow me”**

****Razortooth hopped off his chair and walked off down the back hallway faster than Estella was expecting. After reaching the door in question, Razortooth opened the door for her and gave a slight bow of his head before hurrying off.

Estella dipped her chin “ **Greetings Manager Ragnok, May your future be filled with blood and gold. Have you been made aware of the reason for my visit?”**

**“Greetings Heir Apparent Potter, i confess myself surprised by your command of our noble tongue. Especially with your…. Family connections.”** Ragnok’s eyes gleamed in contempt and Estella could only imagine the prejudice he had faced from Her Potter relatives. 

The Dark families lobbied for more creature rights during the Great Alliance treaty, but the distrust between the light and the goblins ran too deep for either side to compromise. This also was not aided by the Pureblood supremacists in both factions that rallied against the call for rights regardless of who or what they were. ‘Pureblood’ would always be the deciding factor for a lot of families on either side. Sometimes Estella wished muggle biology was taught at Hogwarts to prevent another generation of inbreeding. It took a long time and many arguments with Draco to make him think for himself. 

**“I like to be respectful in all of my interactions, Manager Ragnok, especially to those claw deep in my wealth.”**

Ragnok let loose a horrendous sounding laugh at that. **‘I believe i actually might like you Potter”** The goblins teeth gleamed in the candle light “ **Now what is it Gringotts can do for you?”**

**“I would like to order an inheritance test.”** giving the goblin less information seemed to be in Estella’s best interest. 

She was not sure about their confidentiality. Ragnok eyed her with renewed interest. There was always something unnerving about being the object of a goblins fascination.

“ **Heir apparent Potter, i have to say that an inheritance test is an unusual request for someone already an heir twice over due to your Gryffindor lineage. I must ask if you were aware that these tests can reveal things that you may not like.”**

**“Thank you for your concern Manager Ragnok, but I have decided that I may gain more than I stand to lose.”** Estella knew that she wouldn't make it past graduation as a Potter and a family name behind her would make the journey ahead much easier.

Ragnok examined her for a moment longer than she would have liked before turning and pulling out a long ceremonial knife. 

Ragnok placed a piece of parchment and the knife in front of her and looked into her eyes

“ **You will need to provide a couple drops of blood and I will tell you that Gringotts will swear not to use your blood for anything but it’s intended purpose. “** Ragnok made to stand up “ **The inheritance test is intensely private. I will wait outside for its completion”** He then turned and walked out the ornate wooden door behind Estella.

She let out a sigh of relief. Her respect for the goblins is built on her admiration for the fierceness in intellect and in battle. No one has gained her respect without inspiring a healthy sense of fear within. Estella picked up the gleaming dagger and made a small cut in the centre of her hand. She let the blood drip through her closed palm and watch each drop spider out across the parchment. Estella followed the lines as they starting to form names

_Estella Dorea Potter (Half-blood) …… Mother (Muggleborn) Lily Jasmine Potter nèe Evans (LIVING)……._

_Of course her middle name is Jasmine._ Estella scoffed. 

Her grandparents' love of flowers influenced their children's names heavily. She continued pursuing the flowing lines of the tree and stopped dead on a name she hadn’t seen in years... _Impossible.._ Estella choked, her mind whirling.

_Father (Pureblood) Regulus Arcturus Black (Deceased c. 1979)_

  
  


_Somewhere in london…._

_Eyes the colour of smoke stared at the sudden addition to the Tapestry. Shaky fingers reached out to touch the portrait as if to make sure it was real._

_“Oh Lily… What did you do?”_


	3. Grimmauld place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on a bit of a writing kick. it won't be updated this often later on, but I am currently on a break from school and don't start back at work till next week. 
> 
> I am still looking for a beta, so for now *UNEDITED*
> 
> and I love seeing your comments <3
> 
> Enjoy!

She couldn’t fathom her reality. After she had paid Ragnok for the test, Estella had left gringotts as quickly as possible. She was now standing in the very back of Flourish and Blotts hiding.  _ Hiding.  _ Her pride was smarting from her reaction to the news. The mask that she had built crumbled in a matter of seconds. 

_ What do I do now?  _ Estella could feel herself panicking and she didn’t know what to do. Did she confront Lily? That conversation was a disaster waiting to happen and Estella needed to get emotions under control first.

_ Does James know? Is that why he hates her so much? Not entirely because of her dark alignment, but because of who she inherited it from? _

The whirlwind of emotions was becoming too much. And she sped out of the bookstore towards Diagon’s floo in the leaky cauldron. Estella took a shaky breath and whispered her destination.

  
  
  
  
  


With a flare of green, Estella stepped through into the opulent drawing room. Grey eyes stared at her for a long moment before sighing. 

“Hello Niece”

Sirius always had a flare for knowing things he shouldn’t, but this time she couldn’t figure out how the information had reached him this fast.

“Hello Uncle..” Estella sat on the chair opposite to Sirius and debated telling him everything. 

Sirius Black is a complicated man. He and James were the closest of friends in their school days, but once Sirius took his seat on the Wizengamot and declared Dark, their relationship could freeze fire. James could never tolerate his brother in all but blood supporting different politics; especially when James saw Dumbledore as a father figure. With that being said, Sirius was still incredibly loyal to the man as he had supported him throughout the years his family cast him out. 

“What do you know about this Estella? Do you have any idea of the thoughts that have been flying through my head once i saw your name appear on the Black family Tapestry?”

Sirius may have been a Slytherin if it wasn’t for his blunt honesty. He wouldn’t have survived the word games and power plays while he was in school. But now? Estella could admire that he had shaped his Gryffindor bravery into a sharply honed tool

She decided to match that level of honesty 

“ Well at least we know where my looks came from.”

Sirius barked out a laugh that bordered on hysterical.

“Stop stalling Estella. I know you better then that.”

She rolled her eyes and explained the events earlier in Diagon Alley. Somewhere in the middle of the explanation, Sirius had poured himself a large glass of firewhiskey and was gulping it down faster then Estella had seen in years. Not since the after the raid that had ended his career as an auror. 

Sirius whispered under his breath “ _ Oh Regulus…”  _

“What should we do Uncle Sirius?” Estella didn’t know the extent of the situation between Sirius and his brother and now was not the time.”

“Well..” Sirius started “First of all, we need to make a trip to Gringotts to declare you the black heir. James will disown you when he finds this out.”

She winced “Yes i know, i figured he would before all of this anyway. I am not light like he always wanted.”

He snarled “The James i knew in school would have been horrified at what he has become. Rejecting his own - sorry, his assumed daughter because of her natural magical alignment? He wonders why I declared Dark after the treaty was put in place. My own core is dark!” 

Estella examined the tapestry on the wall and her eyes fell on her biological father. “How did this happen? Did my mother cheat on James? Wasn’t Regulus a confirmed Death Eater at the height of the war?”

He let out a breath and looked skyward “Regulus was complicated Estella. He never had a relationship with your mother to my knowledge, but the evidence of that is in front of me”

Sirius huffed “Lets go to Gringotts before James finds out from his own family tapestry.” 

Estella’s eyes widened comically and Sirius laughed 

“Let’s go”

  
  


_ Later the same day  _

“Welcome to the family niece” Sirius’ eyes softened as he pulled her into a hug. Whispering in her ear; “Regulus would have been so proud.”

Estella’s eyes watered before she slammed down her Occlumency shields “Thank you for everything Uncle. I didn’t know what to do”

“I am always here for you Estella. No matter what” 

“If that's true, then i have something more to tell you once we get home.”

Sirius eyed her and said “Whatever it is Estella, you're my niece and Regulus’ daughter. I'll love you all the same”

Letting out a shallow breath, Estella made her way into the floo back to Grimmauld place.

  
  


As soon as they both made it through, she started to pace.  _ How much should I tell him? _

_ The whole truth?  _

_ Part of it? _

_ Is he telling the truth? _

_ He’s dark aligned Estella! At LEAST have some faith that he follows the same ideals. Soulmarks are precious to the dark. _

Her eyes watered “Oh Uncle..” She started sobbing. Great heaving sobs made their way out of her small frame and she distantly felt arms wrapped around her. 

“Estella? What is it, love?” 

“I have a soulmark.”

Sirius took a stepback and his eyes widened in awe. “A-- soulmark?” He stuttered out. 

“Oh my love everything will be alright. If I may ask, can i see it?” 

Estella nodded warily and undid her glamour using her specific counterspell. She had created the glamour charm and reversal in her 5th year when a stray finite hit her and almost exposed her mark.

“Finite Aigli” 

Spidery swirls of the name started at her fingertips and crawled up her arms before stopping at her collarbone. Each year since her 13th birthday the swirls extended farther up her body, and from what Estella had read, they wouldn’t stop until she acknowledged her soulmate. If he touched any part of the mark, they would change colour and spark. 

Sirius took her arm gently and traced the swirls on her right. He paused as he read the name 

Tom Marvolo Riddle

“You are more powerful than you have ever let on, aren't you?”

Estella’s eyes widened “If you are asking if i purposely hid my magical strength, then the answer is no”

He scoffed “Ambiguous wording. How slytherin of you.” He looked up at her “How much do you know about soulmarks?”

“Not a lot. I could only do so much research without anyone finding out” They moved over to the couch

“Well here is a lesson I should have taught you earlier. I didn’t think you would need it as I tend to forget your core alignment. Your core alignment makes more sense now, as it is usually hereditary. I had assumed that you had somehow practiced dark arts at a younger age changing your alignment when you are younger, but that isn’t really how it works. In hindsight, your mother was too eager to accept that explanation.” He paused and looked to Estella.

“In history, Soulmarks were a sign of great power and as catalysts. They are very rare and usually only appear in pairs meant to make large changes in the world; light or dark. The light faction sees them differently. They see soulmarks as a sign of evil, that these marks could draw them away from the light. They often use Dumbledore’s own past to prove that.”

“Dumbledore has a soulmark?!” Estella was shocked. The epitome of the light had a soulmark?

“Historically, all lords light or dark have had a soulmate in order to keep them grounded. When a super powerful wizard never meets their soulmate or merlin forbid, loses them, they have no one on their level to both keep them in check or to guide them in the right direction.”

“What direction is that? Why does the light faction believe what they do about soulmates?” She couldn’t believe the light wouldn’t jump at the chance for more control over their more powerful members.

“It is the bond that soulmate pairs achieve that scares the light.” Sirius sighed “As well as the one of a bonded pair dies, the other usually goes insane.”

“Why is Dumbledore, well I wouldn't say sane, but functional?” 

“Simple. His soulmate is alive, but he is in Nurmengard.”

Estella’s whole word came to a screeching halt. “ _ Grindelwald is his Soulmate?”  _

“Little is known about their relationship, but what is common knowledge is that Dumbledore rejected the bond due to Grindelwald's dark core. This has often happened in history. Light and dark cores are like oil and water. Merlin and Morgana are excellent examples.” Sirius stood up and went to lean against the doorframe.

‘What i am getting at is that Bonded pairs have the same magical strength, usually different abilities, but in the past the pairs have had the same size magical cores. If one was a Dark lord or lady, the other was  _ always  _ one as well”

Estella felt the world drop out from underneath her. What did this mean for her? Her ability to sense the magic around her suddenly made sense. From everything she read this ability was very rare and only cropped up in Lord and ladies. She then had an epiphany -

In complete terror, Estella asked a question of Sirius “Can Dumbledore sense my magical strength? Is that why he was always so interested in me?”

Sirius snapped his head towards her “What do you mean?”

“When i was younger Dumbledore would come to the house and have tea with my parents and myself. He usually kept his attention away from me, but he was always watching me out of the corner of his eye.”

He sighed “Dumbledore most likely knows you have strong magical potential and that combined with a dark core is enough to make him wary, But as of now you are the legal heiress of the Black with the name behind you as well. You have nothing to be afraid of.” Sirius paused for a moment 

“And when James finds out, if anything goes wrong you are to pack your things and come directly here. In fact I have something for you.” Sirius walked over to the tapestry and unclipped a broach from the bottom. 

“This is a portkey that will transport you directly into this room. The activation key is your full name as it will only transport members of the House of Black. Do not be afraid to use it.

Estella peered into Sirius’ eyes and made a decision “I am going to go confront my mother first and then I'll worry about James. I will hopefully have more information when i get back”

With that, Estella Dorea Black-Potter marched to the floo and simply stated “Potter Manor”


	4. For The Greater Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you guys go! A bigger chapter sitting at about 2400 words. Enjoy !

**Chapter 4: What feels right can’t be wrong? Right?**

  
  


Lily Potter was having a good day. James didn’t fight with Estella, and he left for work with barely a word except for a kiss on the cheek. At one point her relationship with James was what people considered, a true love, epic, but now? She and James slept in different rooms, they could barely have a conversation with one another. Lily blamed Estella for that. She couldn’t believe she had given birth to something…. So cold. 

Her daughter was a silent baby. Very rarely made a sound, or even wanted to be held. That didn’t change as she grew into a toddler. Estella did everything at a speed she thought impossible. Walking, and talking perfectly just after she turned 1, and reading advanced material at 3 and a half years old. Lily and James were widely considered to be prodigies in their respective specialties, but Estella outpaced them both at similar ages. As she entered Hogwarts, Lily constantly got letters from Estella’s Professors praising her for raising such an intelligent daughter. She was told near Estella’s fifth year that she had never gotten a mark below an Outstanding. 

Lily was shocked to say the least, she had received Exceeds Expectations on her weaker subjects, but it seemed Estella didn’t have the same issues. Lily stared in the mirror of her bedroom armoire. Long, waved auburn hair, heart shaped face and green eyes looked back at her. Estella was a complete contrast in many ways; Personality, looks,  _ morals.  _ In her daughter's second year, she had a floo call with Dumbledore where he expressed concern over Estella’s uncanny control over Slytherin house. Apparently Estella had single handedly stopped Slytherin house from calling the muggleborns, Mudbloods. This was a source of pride for Lily until she realized that Slytherins only respected power. What power did Estella wield that she brought Slytherin house to their knees, and what did that mean for her?

  
  


Lily had never had a good relationship with Estella. One look at her face brought back the shame and guilt of her manipulation of her father. She had ignored the evidence of her daughter's paternity for years, but now that Estella was grown it was unmistakable. In her younger years, Lily had convinced herself that James was the father, but her daughter was a dead ringer for the black sisters.

She knew James suspected Estella’s true parentage and that was evident in how he treated her. She wondered how much of Estella’s darkness was resentment for her parents versus what she had inherited from Regulus. Lily pushed her hair back and ran her fingers over the dull grey words that rested just below her ear;

_ Toujours Pur _

_ Always Pure, how ironic _

Lily knew Regulus Black was her soulmate and strung him along for her own ends. 

_ “For the Greater Good”  _ She whispered. She considered accepting the soulbond, but she didn’t know the dangers. When Lily first saw it appear in her second year, she ran to Minerva McGonagall who brought her before Albus Dumbledore. He explained what it was and what it meant for her

_ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

  
  


_ September 1972 _

_ Dumbledore stared at her imperiously from across his desk _

_   
_ _ “Do you know what that mark means Miss Evans?” _

_ “No Professor Dumbledore, I noticed it this morning as I was getting ready for classes.” Lily’s voice shook “Did someone curse me?” _

_ Dumbledore sighed “In a way yes Miss Evans, but not on purpose.” Dumbledore stood up and walked over to the window. “Let me tell you what that mark is, shall I?”  _

_ “It is a soulmate mark, it only appears on witches and wizards meant for great things, but has terrible consequences. Soulmarks appear when you are in the presence of your other half’s magic. They never bode well for anyone as there have been very few bonded pairs in history who haven’t fallen prey to the dark arts.” _

_ “I’m not dark!” Lily spit furiously, but quickly added “Professor Dumbledore, sir” _

_ “Oh i know my dear girl, you just have to know that you cannot accept your soulmate no matter what. Believe me when i say it will not end well.” Dumbledore strode back over to Lily and put a hand on her shoulder, “Promise you will come see me when you figure out who your soulmate is” _

_ Lily eyed him in wide eyed adoration “Promise , sir” _

_ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

  
  


_ I don’t think I'll ever forgive myself for what i have done. _

Even knowing that simple truth, she truly believed that what she did to Regulus Black was unavoidable, and instrumental in ending the war. 

_ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

Estella strode through the floo into Potter Manor’s sitting room. She was never home at this time and wasn’t sure where her Mother would be. She climbed to the second floor and rapped on her mother’s bedroom door. Estella always found it ridiculous her parents pretended to be the perfect couple but slept in separate rooms like they were an arranged marriage.

Lily swung the door open and Estella watched her calm drop off her face. Internally she sneered

_ Gryffindors cannot hide an ounce of emotion from their faces. _

“I didn’t expect you to be home so soon Estella” Lily started down the hallway “I am just about to make tea if you would like to join me?” 

Lily was always the epitome of politeness but she could tell her mother would like to do anything else but have tea with her daughter.

‘I would love too, mother”

Lily winced and made her way into the kitchen to start the kettle. Estella could admire that Lily never wanted to use the house elves, but for a different reason than her mother. She liked that her Mother had shown her how to be self-sufficient, but she definitely didn’t have the compassion her mother held for the elves.

“I went to Gringotts today and had an inheritance test done” Estella knew the word games would fly over Lily’s head. Blunt honesty it was 

Lily’s hands shook. “Oh? What is it that you found out?” 

_ Honestly, she couldn't do better than that? _

_ “ _ Oh just that you have been lying for years about my paternity.”

Lily looked at Estella with wide eyes.

“But let’s move on from that, because i really couldn’t care less that you lied, only the how?” 

Lily took a deep breath “My relationship with Regulus was non-existent in my eyes, but not in his. I had a moment of weakness during a fight with your father and conceived you.”

“But why Regulus?” Estella rolled her eyes “From what Sirius has told me, you had never even glanced in his brother's direction.”   
  


Lily gasped “You told Sirius?! Why would you do that?!”

“Why would i do that? Are you joking? Hmm… what would you do if you found out your godfather was also your uncle? What would you have done in that situation? I know you seem to think that I have no emotional capacity, Mother, but believe it or not, finding out my paternity was a hard revelation to swallow. Especially when it explains my parents hatred towards me”

“We do not hate you Estella and i wish you would dissuade yourself of that notion”   
  


Estella shot up from her seat, temper flaring “YOU DON’T HATE ME?!” Her shout echoed in the kitchen “Then explain the way you both treat me ?”

“I--”

“You what? Don’t think that's true? Let me give you some examples and see if it rings a bell, shall i?” Estella’s eyes resembled a storm brewing “When i was 6, James refused to throw me a birthday party because he was embarrassed about my dark alignment. When i was 8, you didn’t let me get a training wand like other heirs because you thought i would hurt someone. AT EIGHT YEARS OLD. When I was 11, I was sorted into Slytherin and you both told me to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays.”

“You know that this isn’t fair! We did the best we could with you!” Lily’s indignation was evident

“Isn't it fair?” She chuckled darkly “When i was 13 you blamed my brothers stillbirth on me! A CHILD. YOU TOLD A CHILD THAT SHE WAS THE REASON HER BROTHER DIDN’T LIVE”

“You’re darkness infected him ! Dumbledore told us so! You were so jealous that we would have a male heir you killed him!”

Tears leaked out of Estella’s eyes. “You truly believe that, don't you?” 

“Of course i do” Lily spit disgustedly “You aren’t normal! You rarely ever show emotion, you have controlled and manipulated everyone around you since you were a toddler! You’re accidental magic was violent! Do you remember what you did to Ron Weasley? He called you a name and you broke his arm! What normal child does that?” 

Estella sighed. Ronald Weasley was an accident and she had apologized back in 2nd year when she realized he was still holding a grudge. He had accepted it and they were, not friends per say, but civil.

“Clearly this conversation is going nowhere, why don’t you tell me what happened with Regulus?”

Lily sighed and looked at Estella “Since you seem to think so little of me why not.”

She scoffed but gestured for her mother to continue 

“Regulus and I shared a soulmark” Estella stiffened. “Obviously I ignored it as the ritual to remove the mark hadn’t existed yet, but when Regulus was told about our matching marks in 7th year he wouldn’t let it go. He tried to win me over even after my marriage to James, but gave up and became a death eater during that time. The next time we saw each other he was dripping water on my doorstep in Godric's Hollow.”

“Why was he there?”

“You definitely get your lack of patience from Regulus” Lily sniffed. “I invited him in and he told me about a set of objects the dark lord was hiding and that it was the key to destroying him. His elf Kreacher was used to hide one in a cave on the coast.”

“What motivated Regulus to tell you that information? To my knowledge he was loyal to Tom Riddle.”

“The dark faction values soulmates above all else. He believed that he could save my life and be with me if he betrayed the Dark Lord.”   
  


“You let him believe he had a chance? Why would you do that?”

“Don't you see Estella? We had an opportunity to end the war. I asked Regulus to retrieve the object for me. For The Greater Good”

“And?” Estella narrowed her eyes at her mother  _ She didn’t….  _

_ “ _ He never came back. We didn’t find out he had died until after Dumbledore and Riddle had called a ceasefire for the treaty.”

Estella felt numb “You manipulated a man who loved you to sacrifice himself for your cause”

Lily winced. “For the Greater Good.”

Her temper finally broke through “AND THAT MAKES IT BETTER? WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO PLAY AT BEING A GOD? YOU BASICALLY MURDERED MY FATHER?”   
  


Lily’s eyes snapped to behind Estella and widened with fear 

“Your. what.?”

Estella had never seen James Potter so angry. She had seen him furious, but she had never seen the murderous intent now present in his eyes He turned to Estella

“Is it true? You aren’t mine?” His words slow and dangerous he said “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Estella started to speak before a dark purple curse lanced through the air at her. She spun to the side and watched the glass cabinet shatter behind lily. 

“GET THE FUCK OUT!”

Estella put her hand over the broach “ESTELLA DOREA BLACK-POTTER”

_ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

Estella dropped in a heap of tears upon appearing in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place. A slim arm wrapped around her and she looked up and gulped. Her near mirror image stared back at her 

“What has happened, niece?” Bellatrix Lestrange’s eyes danced wildly. 

_ \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _

After Estella has calmed herself using Occlumency exercises she looked up at her Aunt and said 

  
“James Potter isn’t my father and he just found out in an undesirable way.”

Bellatrix flung her head back and cackled. “What karma for the Gryffindor golden boy!”

Estella rolled her eyes at her Aunt “Did you know?”

“Oh no little Estella, i suspected ! There’s a difference. Now who's the daddy? SIrius? Naughty naughty.”

“No, Regulus.” Bella’s eyes widened

“I think you have quite the story for me little snake.” Bella stood up and dragged Estella with her “But first let's wait for your uncle. You know how he gets about being left out of the loop”

Estella gasped “I didn’t grab my things! James cannot go through what I have there Aunt!”

Bella giggled “Don’t you worry your pretty little head”

“KREACHER” Her shriek rung in Estella’s ears

“Go to potter manor and collect Estella’s things. If the potters bother you, feel free to knock them out” 

Estella sighed at her aunt’s antics.

“Estella? I wasn’t expecting you back so soon” Sirius’s concerned face was present in the doorway when she turned around.

“You have some explaining to dooo” Bellatrix’s sing-song made both of them twitch

“ Alright, let’s sit down and i'll tell you what happened”

  
  


At the end of Estella’s explanation Bella’s hair was crackling wildy, and Sirius had jumped up and stormed into the kitchen. Faintly she could hear glass breaking before it became dead silent. Estella sighed

“At least his silencing charms have improved.”

Bellatrix eyed her “I don’t suppose there is any chance of me heading over to Potter Manor?”

“I like you outside of Azkaban Aunt Bella” Estella rolled her eyes “We both know that you wouldn’t be there for a simple chat.”

Bellatrix grinned madly. “That is the point Little Snake.”

“I am going to head to bed. Can you make sure Sirius leaves the kitchen intact?”

“I can make him fix it! Im joining in” With that Bellatrix skipped from the room.

Estella knew her Black family members weren’t all sane. They were after all the by products of too many years of incest. Now she was wondering how much of her instability could be attributed to her Father's family. Listening to the smashing of plates as the door opened to the kitchen, she could safely assume a fair amount.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you are a bunch of information about what happened to Regulus and the lights attitude to soulmarks. As you can see very largely influenced by Dumbledore. There will be more of an explanation about the treaty in the next couple chapters. Next chapter will be Estella's return to Hogwarts.
> 
> I am still deciding on Estella's friendships, who would you like to see be her enemy or her friend?


	5. Friendship's are Earned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whole lot of world building this chapter. Sorry y'all we will get to the good parts soon. I have to lay the foundation for events to come or else it won't make any sense. 
> 
> Please leave a comment! I love reading them
> 
> And OVER 100 bookmarks?! Thank you guys so much
> 
> *UNEDITED* If you would like to beta, please let me know. it would also be nice to bounce ideas off of someone
> 
> ENJOY

“Are you sure you’re all ready to go?” 

Sirius had become much more of a fatherly figure since she had come to live with him just over a month ago. It had been quite the transition as Estella was used to Lily and James hovering over her shoulder. Practicing her magic had become easier as Sirius encouraged her dark arts study. He maintained that magic is magic; light or dark. Your intent is what matters. Estella agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly. She had seen the damage magic could do regardless of if it were light. 

“I am sure Uncle” She tried to shake his hand as they were in public, but Sirius yanked her into a hug. Estella wasn’t sure she would ever get used to his ease with affection. She couldn’t recall a time where her parents had ever willingly touched her. Let alone give her a hug.

“Be safe Estella. Remember what I told you?” 

“Yes Uncle, Do not let anyone bother me, and I won’t.”

“Alright, i will see you over Yule holidays. Write to me before Samhain will you?”

Estella winced as she realized how horrible she is at keeping in contact. She would have to change that this upcoming year. 

“Yes I will Uncle.” She made to turn away, but before she did Sirius tugged on her arm.

“Take Hogwarts by storm this year will you?”

She giggled and turned to hop on the express.

Making her way to the compartment, she immediately noticed the whispers. Estella groaned as she seemed to have forgotten how tightly knit the Wizarding community was. She would have to get a handle on this as soon as possible. She chose an empty compartment and pulled out her 7th year Defensive magic text. Sometime in her 3rd year, the board of governors ruled the old defense against the dark arts class was discriminatory towards students with a dark alignment. Dumbledore fought them tooth and nail, but the motion was passed and the new class was instated. She personally was very happy about the switch, as it had helped her develop her magic in an controlled environment. With the introduction of the treaty in 1981, dark magic had become legal. It was still highly regulated and required a license to practice outside of a school environment. Tom Riddle was the forerunner for this motion. Her soulmate was aggressively pro-dark magic, but somehow had still won over the majority of the populace with his charisma. 

_ His good looks surely have helped matters.  _ Estella groaned as she remembered the intense hero worship a lot of the girls in Hogwarts held for him. It was pure torture watching the girls lust over her soulmate. Estella had resolved that she wouldn’t reveal herself to Tom until she was out of school. The last thing she needed was her soulmate viewing her as a schoolgirl. Especially with the age difference. 

Her compartment door quietly slid open and she glanced up. Her eyes widened as she took in a nervous Ron Weasley

“Hello Heir Potter. May I sit?”

Estella’s mind whirled with confusion. Weasley had never conformed to nobility status manners even though Arthur Weasley held a seat on the wizengamot. The Weasley’s were a most Ancient House, along with the Potter’s . Even higher was her rightful House; The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Noble status was only assigned to families who have maintained their wizengamot seat and are independently wealthy. Of the original Sacred 28 families, only Houses Black, Malfoy, Nott, Greengrass, Rosier, Longbottom and Fawley still held that title. Other families like the Selwyn’s, Parkinson’s, Traver’s and Abbotts were the same level as the Weasley’s. Ancient signified that the family was Sacred 28, but noble was an earned status through various ways. Most common was financial, so in turn the Weasley’s had not gained Noble status. 

“It is now Heir Black, but please join me Mr. Weasley” As the sixth son in the Weasley house, Ron did not warrant a title.

Ron took a seat facing Estella and stared out the window for a moment. 

“I apologize, Heir Black. I had heard the rumors, but I didn't want to presume.” Ron had clearly been tutored sometime in the last few years on Pureblood etiquette, as he had never spoken so formally to anyone to her knowledge. 

“Is there something you would like to speak to me about, Mr. Weasley”

Ron scrunched his nose and said “Please call me Ron, or Ronald. Mr. Weasley makes me feel like my Dad”. 

_ Ah, there's the Ronald Weasley I know. _

He continued on staring out the window “I wanted to come and speak with you and let you know that House Weasley stands beside you in the proceedings between House Potter and House Black” 

Estella kept her face blank, but did not understand what Weasley was talking about. 

“I would be comfortable if you called me by my first name as well Ronald. As for the call of support, I confess myself confused. What proceedings?”

Ron's eyes widened comically. “Estella, The Daily Prophet reported this morning that House Potter is suing House Black for Line theft. I apologize, i thought you were aware”

Estella’s hair floated around her crackling like she had just been hit by lightning. Despite her anger, she calmly asked, “Do you have a copy by chance I could pursue?” 

Ron scrambled for his bag and held out the paper.

**_“HOUSE POTTER ACCUSES HOUSE BLACK OF LINE THEFT”_ **

The title mocked her as she read through the rest of the article 

**_“Lord Potter has stated he will be pursuing charges against the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black for withholding information about his assumed heir. His heir, Estella Potter, has been revealed to not be Lord Potter’s daughter, but Regulus Black’s! (see pg.4 for more on Regulus Black) Lord Potter wants damages paid to him for House Black’s negligence in the matter”_ **

The rest of the article read like a dirty gossip rag, detailing a skewed version of the truth about the affair Regulus had with Lily. Estella was vibrating in her seat by the time she finished. 

Bright flames quickly devoured the paper and Estella dropped it while Ronald stomped the embers out.

“Glad i’m not on your bad side, Estella”

“I apologize for that. I seemed to have lost my temper.”

“Just bloody slightly hey?”

Estella huffed out a laugh and met Ron’s eyes.

“Forgive me for asking, but why is your family throwing their support behind me. In addition, I am curious as to why you are personally telling me as a Letter from Lord Weasley would have been sufficient.”

“My mother started her usual ranting as she is pretty close with your parents and my siblings shut it down right quick. Fred and George don’t have much of an opinion on you, but they like you well enough, Percy loved you in school as you were the best behaved out of the Slytherin’s and Ginny was… Well overly-passionate in your defense.” Ron paused and eyed Estella “She told us that you have been a huge support to her since her first day in Slytherin house and I would like to tell you how much that means to our family.”

“Of course Ronald. I actually quite like Ginny. Although she is quite the spitfire and did not need much of my help after her first year.” She snickered slightly “Did she tell you she punched Pansy Parkinson in the face at the start of her second year? It is a fond memory of mine.”

“She what?! That’s my sister I guess. She has always had a temper.” Ron stopped and stared at her in confusion. ”I thought Parkinson was your friend?” 

She smirked slightly “I wouldn’t call us friends, more like tentative allies. Pansy has always harbored under the false impression that I was trying to steal Draco from her. I hope that stops now that she realizes i am significantly closer to him in our family tree.”

He turned green slightly and scoffed. “Something tells me that she won’t see it that way.”

Wincing Estella agreed with that sentiment. Pansy could be a bit much. Though intelligent, she has had an obsession with Draco since they were children.

Ron stood up and offered to escort her to the prefect meeting starting soon.

“I wonder who the Head girl is this --” Ron’s eyes glued to her badge pinned to her lapel and grinned. “I guess we will be seeing more of each other this year as i am Head Boy.”

Estella smiled genuinely at Ron Weasley for the first time since she had met him. 

“I guess we shall”

  
  


\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
  


The prefect meeting had gone better than Estella had hoped. The lineup for the 7th year prefects was good this year. The prefects for Hufflepuff were Susan Bones and Ernie MacMIllan. Susan was undeniably fair like her Wizengamot judge aunt, Amelia Bones. In addition, Ernie MacMillan was a good choice in his own right due to his steadfast defense of the rules, but was a touch arrogant.

For Ravenclaw, Terry Boot and Padma Patil. Estella wasn’t sure about them as they generally kept to themselves, but they were polite and engaged in the meeting. The Gryffindor prefects were Neville Longbottom and a sour looking Hermione Granger; Estella’s only real academic competition. She genuinely liked Hermione and her thirst for knowledge was admirable, but Estella could tell that she was not happy that she didn’t receive Head Girl. Estella personally thought that her own volunteering and mentoring of the younger students gave her the edge for the position. Hermione had never thought about anything other than her school work. Neville on the other hand, is a sweet boy.  _ If a little clumsy.  _ Estella thought to herself. His parents had been tortured during the war by Bellatrix’s ex-husband, Rodoulphus Lestrange. Due to the Wizarding World’s archaic law, Bellatrix’s betrothal contract had forced her to remarry his younger brother Rabastan. They had grown into a love match, but that didn’t change that she believed it was wrong. 

Estella had always been very moderate in her beliefs. She didn’t understand the blood prejudice, but could see that the Wizarding world was adapting to muggle traditions to make the muggleborns happy. That, she did not agree with. Unfortunately any attempt to install a Wizarding culture class at Hogwarts had been blocked by Dumbledore himself. He still had a few of the Board of Governors on his side. Just enough to occasionally sway the vote in his favour. In most other issues, Estella really didn’t care either way. She had often been the target of horrified looks when she answered any questions in Wizarding Politics. Despite that, it was her favourite class.

For Slytherin, Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass have been chosen. Estella was pleased as Daphne was quite possibly her only female friend, and Theodore seemed to like her well enough when he wasn’t shut away in the Library. 

After she and Ron had assigned groups to manage the younger prefects, in addition to their own patrol schedules, they had dismissed the meeting. As she was about to leave, the group stopped her.

Theodore Nott was the first to speak

“Heir Black, We would all like to hear your side of the story and not from the Prophet.”

Estella closed her eyes briefly “Very well Heir Nott. Better it come from me then James Potter” 

She explained the barest details, barely glancing over what Regulus was trying to collect for Lily. Estella still wasn’t sure what the object was, and she wanted to hold that information close. 

“I am glad that you are okay, regardless of the political consequences of the situation, Estella.” 

The others muttered in agreement with Daphne while throwing her looks. Estella realized that she and Daphne were rarely informal in front of others; Their friendship would come as a shock for many. Both were nicknamed the Ice Queens of Slytherin by many in their year, but few were brave enough to say it to their face. Minus Draco, who thought it a pastime to annoy the girls. 

Ron spoke up “House Weasley has declared support for House Black in this issue.” Hermione eyed him confusedly. 

Susan Bones cleared her throat “As the Heir to the Most Noble House of Bones, I declare support for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black in the proceedings against The Most Ancient House of Potter.” 

After Susan’s declaration, many others followed. Greengrass, Nott, Macmillan, Longbottom. Estella was quite overwhelmed with the unexpected support. Unexpectedly, Hermione also spoke up.

“I may not have a title behind me, but I will declare support. Not for your house, but for you Estella. We may have had our rivalry, and will most likely continue to do so, but I have always known you to be honest and true to your word.”

The prefects nodded in agreement and began to shuffle to the other meeting to iron out their patrol schedules. Estella was thankful to not have to do that this year. The Head’s had less paperwork and scheduling as their NEWTS were this upcoming year. The room finally emptied minus Daphne, and Ron gave a slight wave in goodbye.

Daphne cocked her eyebrow at Estella “Are Weasley and you friends all of the sudden?”

“For lack of a better word I would say yes. He was the one to inform me of the prophet article. We don’t receive the prophet at Grimmauld so I was a bit behind in the news this morning.”

“Unlike you not to be in control of everything Estella.” Daphne’s lip twitched “Maybe the Weasley’s will offer a betrothal contract.” 

Estella launched a pillow from the seat at Daphne while the two laughed hysterically.

She knew that if anyone peered into the compartment, they would have a heart attack seeing the coldest girls in school with bright smiles upon their faces. 

  
  
  



	6. New Beginning's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter yet! Thank you all

The dim lights of the castle loomed ahead through the fog casting an eerie glow. No matter the weather, the sight of Hogwarts always filled her with a familiar feeling of home. That was what Hogwarts truly was to Estella. Regardless of the fact that Dumbledore was in control of the school, she always saw the chill of the stone castle as her first and only home. James and Lily were never concerned with filling their home with joy. 

Looking around at the friends she had made along the way, she realized a simple truth. Family wasn’t always blood; it was those who cared enough to see you through the worst times of your life. Briefly she wondered what would have come of herself if she hadn’t met Draco and Daphne. Looking between the two, who were currently bickering in the seats across from her, she sighed. An angry and bitter little girl had grown into something that she could be at least slightly proud of. Estella’s self-confidence had grown immensely under the careful care of the arrogant blondes in front of her. Something really could be said about the loyalty of Slytherins; even in comparison to Hufflepuffs. 

Snapping back to the conversation Estella only caught the tail end of the taunt Draco aimed at her “--for a marriage between us, hey Black?”

She lost her mask briefly qand spluttered “Excuse me? Marriage what?”

Daphne smirked “Oh dear Draco was just explaining that his Mother was deeply disappointed that you two are too closely related to marry.” Draco groaned as Daphne eyed her “Lost in your thoughts again? You could give Lavender Brown a run for her galleons for the prize of being spacey today.”

“Apologies, it has been a long summer” 

Daphne and Draco exchanged glances that weren’t missed by Estella.

“Alright you two. Whatever you want to ask, Spit it out.”

As was typical of Draco he spoke up first. “Nott told me a bit of what happened in the Prefects meeting and I wanted to know how you are handling this?”

“Tactful as always, Dear Draco.” Daphne rolled her eyes “and you wonder why you weren’t made a prefect. You would make a Hufflepuff cry by asking insensitive questions.”

“Well, this place has truly gone to the dogs. Not making me prefect. Pfft” Draco’s pride was clearly smarting. Estella watched their verbal spar with an air of amusement.

“Cut it out children.” Estella broke in just before Daphne cast a stinging hex at Draco. Both of their eyes snapped to her sheepishly. 

“The question still stands, Estella.” Draco truly had mastered the art of acting innocent.

Sighing Estella said “Can we continue this conversation after the feast? I would prefer to have a break between explanations.” 

_ An emotional break that is. _

Daphne fixed her with a knowing look. “Can’t hold your curiosity back Draco? What would your Mother say about your poor manners? You know how much she loves Estella… Maybe i'll write her a letter?”

Draco’s face rapidly paled before snapping back at her. Estella was quickly lost in her thoughts again. Narcissa Malfoy’s affection towards her had been a surprise to them all. Being a Potter, they expected her to dislike Estella on principle, but when Draco asked to invite her home for Yule Holidays in their first year, she had agreed. They had a lovely Yule and Estella had been given a lovely set of books on Spell creation. How the Malfoy’s knew she would be interested in it was a mystery. When they had been asked, Narcissa had responded vaguely just stating that Estella reminded her of a friend when he was younger.

Since then, She and Narcissa had kept a steady correspondence. Estella greatly respected the elder witch, and was thankful for her tutelage in high society manners. Merlin knows her own family had not helped in that area. The light faction did not hold Pureblood society in high esteem and tended to reject all parts of it; even the logical ones. She would have never been able to navigate the yearly high society balls without Narcissa’s help.

Lucius Malfoy had always eyed her with a sense of confusion. Estella had long suspected that the man could sense her magic. A small number of witches and wizards could feel magical strength, but couldn’t determine core alignment unless the person in question had their magic unmasked. Masking magic was a particularly difficult piece of magic, but only in the sense that information about it was slim. Due to Estella’s unique circumstances, Lily had forced her to learn it as soon as she was able, lest she tarnish their pristine reputation. This ability differed to Estella’s as she could feel a faint impression of core alignment regardless of masking. Estella had no doubts on the elder Malfoy’s magical strength as they were a bonded pair of soulmates. She had briefly considered revealing that she had a soulmark to ask about theirs, but deemed it too high of a risk as Lucius was quite close with Riddle. 

With a slight jolt the carriages came to a stop and the group of three stepped out of the carriage. As they made their way into the castle, Estella gave a slight nod to Ron’s slight smile. When he turned away she reflected on their strange truce. She had never understood Ron’s animosity towards her, but had assumed it had something to do with Lily and Molly’s friendship. Estella had not kept tabs on her mother's social life, but with House Weasley’s gesture of support she figured it was in the past.

The warmth of the Great Hall flowed over Estella. She strode over to the very end of the Slytherin table and took a seat with Draco sitting directly beside her, Daphne across. They had established their seats at the top of Slytherin’s pecking order at the beginning of fifth year after Calsana Rosier had graduated. Calsana had fought her way to the top, just as Estella did Slytherin’s respected power and Estella had quite a bit too spare. Calsana had taken Estella under her wing and tutored in advanced magics throughout her time at Hogwarts. She tried to keep in touch with the flighty Hogwarts graduate, but Calsana was a hitwizard taking international jobs with various wizarding governments. Unlike Bellatrix, she at least tried to appear like her dealing was legal. Estella knew otherwise, but what the authorities didn’t know, wouldn't hurt them. Slytherins protect their own. 

She had encountered very little opposition in her ascension to the top. Calsana had made sure Estella’s place was almost assured before she left. There were a few duels with the then 7th years who didn’t take kindly to a bunch of kids taking their “rightful” places. Cassius Warrington had learned his lesson when their duel had put him in the hospital wing in the weeks leading up to winter break. That was both the beauty and curse of Slytherin; what happens in slytherin house, stays in slytherin house.

Ginerva Weasley took the seat next to Draco with a barely concealed blush. Estella and Daphne smirked wickedly at each other as Draco stuttered a greeting to the redhead. She smiled at the 6th year prefect softly. Estella had a weak spot for the younger girl. Ginny had reminded her of how she was at before she had become so jaded. Estella worked to preserve that innocence while preparing Ginny for the realities of Slytherin House. A muggle saying “Sink or Swim” aptly fit the situation. Either the younger girl would take to Estella’s teachings and thrive or she would be crushed under the pressure. She had greatly outweighed Estella’s expectations and had a much more fearsome reputation then her own. Ginny had quite the record of hexing anyone who had a negative word to say about Estella or her family. That loyalty meant more than words to Estella, and she made sure to convey that when she was able.

The sorting dragged on for a long time as per usual. Estella recognized a few names, but none stuck out until--

“Calliope Rosier!” McGonagall had clearly used a sonorus to achieve that volume

A few short moment’s later the hat called out it’s decision

“GRYFFINDOR!” a rumbling of whispers ripped up the Slytherin table and Estella frowned. She was hoping for Slytherin so she could declare Calliope under her protection. A dark daughter in the notoriously light house would not be received well. She resolved to ask a favour of Ronald Weasley later.

She watched as the tiny blonde walked to the Gryffindor table eyes scanning over the people half heartedly clapping and Estella’s heart wrenched as she thought of her own reception to Slytherin. Her eyes narrowed at the students clad in red and gold. 

Daphne lightly tapped her hand “No need to try and cast the killing curse with your eyes. We will handle it later.”

Draco cast a wary look at her as she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Of course Daphne. We  _ will  _ handle it.” She continued watching Calliope and felt eyes on her. Ron Weasley’s focus was darting between Estella and the newest addition to Gryffindor house. He tilted his head at Calliope and raised his brows. Estella nodded minutely as he smiled and made his way down to the end of the table.

Draco cast an impressed look at Weasley. “Who is that, and Where did the Weaselbee we all know and hate go?”

Daphne scoffed and put on a haughty look “Don’t you remember the Head’s meeting? Oh wait, I forgot you aren’t--OW!” Daphne yelped as a satisfied Draco discretely slipped his wand into its holster

  
  
  
  
  


The rest of the feast passed with little fanfare and Estella stood up to organize the prefects. After her rounds to each table, She approached the first year gryffindors. Calliope’s blue eyes met hers.

Dipping into a courtesy Calliope greeted her. “Heir Black It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard good things from Calsana.” A few of the other Gryffindors sniggered at her formality and Estella grew more annoyed than she already was. 

Performing a small curtsy herself “Pleasure to meet you as well Ms.Rosier. I am glad to have made a good impression.” Her own display of formality had shut the older gryffindors up. With a quick glare the first years quickly followed. She leaned down briefly to Calliope’s level.

Under her breath Estella gave instructions to her “Stick close to Ronald Weasley if the other gives you trouble. If he is unavailable, you come directly to me, understood?”

“Perfectly, Heir Black” Calliope gave her a genuine smile before following Ron’s beckon of the first years. 

She turned to wrangle her own house in order. 

_ Sonorus _

She had become quite skilled in wandless casting.

“Slytherin First years follow me.”

A group of about 10 children starting trailing behind her. The great hall had nearly cleared out and Estella preferred it that way. Bringing the first years into a full common room would give them an idea of the hierarchy and how they would fit. 

Reaching the entrance to the Slytherin common room, estella whispered the spell to set the password as she eyed the snake carvings that encircled the door. She briefly considered different options before she settled on a warning for those who would challenge her.

“ _ Sýnthima draconian” _

It also helped slightly that Draco would be a touch embarrassed that all of Slytherin would be partially saying his name to enter. 

_ Or he will be incredibly pleased , the pompous bastard.  _

“Alright everyone. The password for the month is Draconian. Do not forget it unless you want to owe an upper year a favour for giving it to you. New passwords will be posted by the door inside the common room on the last day of the month. Our passwords are not to be shared with the rest of the school.” Estella’s eyes wandered over the 1st years. She recognized a few faces, but couldn’t place names. 

“Follow me and I will give a basic rundown of the rules before Professor Snape arrives.”

She led them to the wide set of stairs before the entrance to the dorms and began her well rehearsed speech. This was usually given by the 7th year prefects, except in the rare occasion there was a Head in Slytherin.

“As I am sure some of you have noticed the positioning in the common room, there is a hierarchy in Slytherin. None of your positions are guaranteed. Having higher up siblings will do nothing for you except for protection from others.” Estella watched a few eyes dart to the people seated. “You will do well to learn the nuances of the power structure before it gets you in trouble.Slight conflicts can turn ugly between families. Understood?”

Nearly all of them confirmed verbally; the rest nodded. 

“Professor Snape should be here any moment. Please stay where you are.”

With that Estella swept to the central sofa between Daphne and Draco. She watched which of the first years noticed that very deliberate move. A small pair of twins scanned her group with narrowed eyes, while a few others widened their gaze watching her sit down. Estella took a mental note of their faces as ones to keep an eye on.

She could feel her friends smugness radiating off of them.  _ The pride of purebloods.  _ Estella couldn’t say much more than that as she was a very proud person herself. Everything she had built in Slytherin house was a source of pride for her. She was at an incredible disadvantage when she entered Hogwarts at 11. A Half-blood from a light family was not received well in Slytherin house. Until the last few years at least. Calsana and Estella had worked to change these long standing attitudes since Calsana had taken over from her predecessor in Calsana’s 6th year. Professor Snape had helped where they lacked.

No sooner did Estella think her name Professor Severa Snape swept into the common room with her billowing capes behind her.  _ Dramatic as usual, but good for the effect.  _ Estella held a large amount of respect for the sneering woman in front of her. Severa Snape was the youngest witch or wizard to achieve a Potions Mastery in the last 50 years. At just 20 years old, Severa Snape had earned her title and went on to not only to be something of a war hero for the Dark Faction, but continuously invented new potions. The students of Hogwarts knew Professor Snape in a different light, her severe and sour disposition made her nearly universally hated. The Slytherins were an exception as Severa Snape showed her snakes favouritism, because very few other teachers were fair. 

The light faction outnumbers the dark nearly 2:1 due to the influx of muggle borns in recent years. As of recent years, studies were released about muggleborn ancestry and most were found to have been descended from squibs. This had cooled the blatant racism quite a bit. The Department of Mysteries also theorized that Muggleborns were born with grey cores, like the neutral families. As a result, they were able to use both branches of magic without difficulty, but were predisposed to prejudice about dark magic from the moment they found out about magic. It was another law that Riddle was trying to pass; the requirement that an unbiased party would introduce magic to the muggleborns. So far he has not passed the law, but Estella was sure that he would with time.

Professor Snape’s sharp eyes scanned the common room before falling on the first years in neat lines by the stairs. She glanced over at Estella and her lips twitched up. Estella let a smirk lose before settling down to listen.

Severa Snape’s voice whipped across the room. “ Welcome to Hogwarts. First I will say that as Head of Slytherin House I expect you all to hold your grades up to an acceptable standard. If you are struggling, Estella Black will more then likely be willing to help you as she has done for a number of years. If, and only If, she is unavailable you may come seek me out. If you are given what you believe to be unfair punishment from other prefects, again adress Miss Black. If the punishment is from a teacher come see me.There are two important rules in Slytherin.” Snape scanned her eyes across the 1st year with a blank face. “One, you do not go anywhere alone. A majority of Slytherin’s are of Grey or Dark Alignment and the light nearly doubles us. Do your best to coexist, and if you do instigate, do. not. get. Caught.” 

Each word was punctuated harshly. Snape had always meant business. Draco’s attention had wandered and he was solely fixated on the redhead sitting on the chair to his left

“Two, What happens in Slytherin House, Stays here. If I find out anyone is gossiping about Slytherin Business to other students, there will be consequences. That is all. Prefects, show the 1st years their dorms.”

With that, Professor Snape whirled around and went to stride out of the room. Before reaching the door she tossed one last thing over her shoulder.

“Miss Black, see me in my office after Breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Professor.”

In a nasally voice Draco mocked her ‘ _ oh yes professor! I'd do anything for you” _

And for the third time that day one of them yelped from the pain of a stinging hex.


End file.
